[Nettime-bold] Hundreds of thousands march against repression -- Where arethe missing people?

[snafu <snafu@ecn.org>]

Rome, 25 / 07/ 01

100,000 in Milan, 50,000 in Rome, 30.000 in Naples, 20,000 in
Bologna, 15,000 in Turin, 7,000 in Brescia, 6,000 in Trieste, 5,000 in
Genova, 5,000 in Palermo, 3,000 in Ancona. Hundreds of cities and
villages of Italy, including the most remote ones, saw people marching
yesterday, to protest against the police repression during the G8.
Strong, determined, full of rage and of an endless will to dance, the
demonstrations have been the most important answer to the black wind
blowing on the country. It was 24 years that a demonstrator wasn't deadly
shot in Italy. 41, since a Government sustained by a right wing coalition
(Democratic Christian Party plus M.S.I) was ruling Italy for two months,
killing demonstrators in Reggio Emilia, Palermo and Catania. At that
time, the deaths were people referring to historical organization of the
working class, such as the Communist and Socialist Party, or the Unions.

Nowadays, these organizations, with few exception, have lost any
capability to drive the movement or to have a positive dialogue with it.
While in the 80s the big demonstrations were still organized by parties
and unions and saw autonomous groups confined in the back - controlled
both by the police and the security services of the demonstrators - today
the relationship seems to reverse. These massive demonstrations have been
leaded by self-organized unions, social centers and different kinds of
networks, and only followed by the flags of the parties. A clear evidence
of the fact that the organizing form against the global capital takes the
shape of a network (the Genoa Social Forum or the Global Social Forum)
who has the advantage of respecting diversity, and not being organized
around the "democratic centrality" of the old Communist Party.

The disadvantage though, is that the respect of the differences doesn't
allow, in condition of extreme pressure, as the Genova ones, to control
the situation. Under this point of view, it is true that the
"declaration of war to the G8", and the repetitive calls by the
White Overalls to the violation of the Red Zone, have had their media
resonance. But it's also true that this group  has not been able to
control the situation, and, in the end, to practice any civil
disobedience. This is due to a precise war strategy, which was
symbolically evoked by the White Overalls, but then materially practiced
by the State and small groups. In the  60s Black Panthers were
marching wearing military jackets and holding gunfires. They were
depicted as terrorists and heavily repressed, even if their message was
only symbolic. The EZLN strategy of "words as war" has been
much more effective, but only for the capacity of Marcos to communicate
and bridge so many different levels. I wonder if this movement, at least
on its Italian side, has someone who is able to speak like Marcos. A
friend of mine always says that there's no revolution without poetry and
vice-versa.


- 100 desaparecidos?
            
Stepping back to the chronicle, the most worrying news come on the front
of the missing people. The Genova Social Forum speaks of 50-100
"desaparecidos". Others sources raise the number up to 350. The
alarm is fired by the fact that the police refuses to give a complete
list of the arrested, and that many parents don't have any news about
their children. The most serious concern are for foreigners, in
particular Germans and Austrians, generally accused to be part of the
"Black Bloc". As regard the last wave of arrests, the 17 people
of the publixTheatreCaravane should be accused, as any other, of
"criminal association aimed to devastation and sack". 

The denounces of tortures in barracks, police stations and in prisons
are, unluckily, too many. The following is one of the reports, published
yesterday on Indymedia:
http://indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=54924
On monday, july 23rd, a group of media
activists were allowed to visit some of the Imprisoned in the jails and
prisons in Genova. They Could talk about five minutes to some of the
imprisoned. Report from the jail "Vercelli" 

The media activists could speak to three women, five minutes each. The
women declared that they all have been beaten, when they were arrested
and/or in jail/at the police station. The wounds at their heads and in
the faces emphazised the reports. 
The situation of the men seems to be much more serious. The three women
told that they could hear the men beeing tortured and
"punished" throughout the whole night. 

Report from another Police station in Genova: 

Except for one women all others were sorted in nationalities and put into
2-3 cells. Although it seems that they were treated better than the
people in "Vercelli", they have been beaten and kicked when
they went to the toilet. The police shouted at them and used bad words.
But they (the imprisoned) all told, that it could have been worse. Some
were allowed to make phone calls. 

Report from other women arrested on saturday (in jail
"Vercelli": 

Some of the women told that they were not beaten, but there were other
terrible things happening in there. The police were obviously organized
fascist, e.g. they called the imprisoned "fucking jewish
gipsys" or they were shouting "hasta la victoria siempre"
while showing the Hitler Greeting. There were Mussolini Pictures on the
walls. Tear gas was thrown into the cells, so that somebody who stood
next to the prisoners was vomiting blood. Some of the women were forced
to stand 19 hours with their arms lifted, without getting nothing to
drink for the same time. there only was one police officer, that was
obviously shocked by himself and brought about 200ml. of water for about
nineteen people. One's person's leg was broken and couldn't stand up
anymore. she/he was beaten until she managed to stand up somehow leaning
to the wall. The people in jail reported that the police women were much
worse than the men. They pulled people by their hair and the imprisoned
had the. impression they were "total psychopaths"! 


Distribute this information, organize solidarity actions worldwide and do
whatever.... but do something!!! 

- end of quote -

The other important thing to make circulate is the address of the Genoa
Social Forum, which is collecting eye-witness reports, pictures, movies,
anything that might be relevant for a dossier:

Genoa Social Forum 
via San Luca 15/9 - 16124 Genova 
tel. 010 2461749 
fax 010 2461413 
e.mail info@genoa-g8.org - webmaster@genoa-g8.org

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NO JUSTICE - NO PEACE!!!!